Top apprentice Jason Maskiell declared he liked the Moonee Valley track and it was easy to see why after he dominated Saturday's meeting with a winning treble in the first three races.The 19-year-old has ridden three trebles in Melbourne and all of them have been at Moonee Valley.However it wasn't all good news for Maskiell who was suspended for 12 meetings for careless riding aboard Beyond Pardon, winner of the Programmed Property Services Hcp (1600m).Maskiell, who pleaded guilty to the charge
Top apprentice Jason Maskiell declared he liked the Moonee Valley track and it was easy to see why after he dominated Saturday's meeting with a winning treble in the first three races.
The 19-year-old has ridden three trebles in Melbourne and all of them have been at Moonee Valley.
However it wasn't all good news for Maskiell who was suspended for 12 meetings for careless riding aboard Beyond Pardon, winner of the Programmed Property Services Hcp (1600m).
Maskiell, who pleaded guilty to the charge, begins the suspension after riding at Cranbourne on Sunday and will be back on June 12 when he is booked to ride the Bart Cummings-trained Russeting in the Group One Stradbroke Hcp (1400m) at Eagle Farm.
Earlier Maskiell chalked up an important career milestone by landing his 50th metropolitan winner aboard Enzed Girl in the opening event, the tattsbet.com Hcp (1200m).
He loses his 2kg allowance in town after Saturday and will in future claim 1.5kg.
"Thank God, it's taken me too long but it's going really good. I like this track," Maskiell said.
Maskiell led all the way aboard the unbeaten Mick Price-trained three-year-old Our Baby Bonus ($1.75 fav) in the Adapt Australia Hcp (1000m) and landed his 50th Melbourne winner for the season on Beyond Pardon ($3 fav).
His first and third winners were both prepared by the strong Robert Smerdon stable which brought up a winning treble when Black And Bent ($2.60 fav) won the Gillies Famous Pies Country Cup (3000m) with Mark Pegus in the saddle.
Maskiell, who rode his first city winner aboard Awimoweh at Moonee Valley in June last year, is seven wins behind Luke Nolen in the Melbourne jockeys' premiership.
The closest apprentice to Maskiell is Brent Evans (24 wins).
Maskiell just missed making it four for the day when he was beaten a short head on Bird Of Fire ($3.90 fav) by the Robert Hickmott-trained Tindal ($8) ridden by apprentice Jack Hill in the Geoff Torney Cup (1600m).
Tindal, a Testa Rossa rising five-year-old, was gelded after running third to subsequent Melbourne Cup winner Shocking over 1600m at Flemington in May last year.
He resumed after a 12-month layoff when 11th of 12 to Veewap over 1400m at Caulfield last Saturday.
The stable reported to stewards that the intention was for Tindal to be ridden just off the speed at Caulfield but he drifted back to ninth on settling.
After being given the all clear by vets, Tindal backed up on Saturday but this time had no trouble settling third in the small field of seven before narrowly scoring his fourth win from 13 starts.
Tindal showed plenty of promise as a young horse winning three of his first five starts including victories at Moonee Valley (1000m) and Flemington (1410m) as a two-year-old.
As a spring three-year-old he won the Listed Beyond Sportswear Stakes (1400m) at Flemington, beating subsequent dual Group One winner Heart Of Dreams.